BBC Sounds Hits New Listening High During Heavy Global News Cycle.

BBC Sounds had a record 265 million plays of on-demand podcasts and on-demand radio content on its app during the first quarter. During another intense news cycle, “Newscast” was the most listened to podcast of the quarter for all adults and those under 35 years old, and “Americast” ranked as the second most popular podcast among all adults.

The BBC also reports “The Traitors: Uncloaked” was among the top 10 podcasts for adults of all ages on BBC Sounds, as well as helping drive younger listeners to the platform as the second most popular podcast for those under 35. Following the New Year’s Day recreation of its first-ever episode with members of the cast playing their ancestors, “The Archers Podcast” also secured a place in the top 10 for listeners of all ages.

Acquired podcasts also performed well during first quarter. That group was led once more by “Sherlock Holmes Short Stories.” Ranking second was “A Short History Of…” and “The Rest Is History” was third.

The “Global News Podcast” was the most downloaded program globally on third-party platforms, followed by “6 Minute English” and “Newscast.”

“BBC Sounds has had a brilliant start to 2026,” said Jonathan Wall, Director of BBC Sounds. “It’s great to see audiences coming in record numbers and also finding our content through podcasts and socials off platform. I’m pleased to see younger listeners enjoying new titles like ‘Game’s Gone: The Steve Bracknell Podcast’ and Audio Lab’s ‘MF Doom: Long Island to Leeds,’ which show the value of backing fresh ideas and distinctive new voices. It’s also great to see some of our Tour de Force famous shows like ‘The Archers,’ ‘Desert Island Discs’ and ‘In Our Time,’ in fine form.”

The BBC update is based on its first-party data. The public broadcast doesn’t release specific download numbers for its podcasts. Overall, it says BBC Sounds had a record start to the year with 718 million plays of podcasts, music and streaming radio during the first quarter. That is up 5% from a year earlier. Beyond BBC platforms, those podcasts and other audio content were downloaded 231 million times on third-party platforms in Q1.

“This has been another exceptional quarter for our speech audio output, with audiences continuing to seek out distinctive storytelling and shared cultural moments, said Director of BBC Speech Audio in the announcement.